Studies Show That This Food May Be Better Than Xanax For Relieving Stress

Your heart races as the waves of panic begin to wash over you. Even though you know it’s irrational, you can’t control the distress yourself. As you reach for the Xanax, however, you can’t help but wonder if there isn’t a more natural solution that doesn’t rely on a trip to the pharmacy. And, apparently, there is. According to science, the answer to calming your worries may even be in your fridge right now.

Common affliction

If that scenario sounds familiar, though, then you’re not alone. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), just over 18 percent of adults in the U.S. – or around 40 million people – are afflicted by anxiety disorders every year. And for some, the related symptoms are so intense that they’re even admitted into hospital.

A frightening experience

Those who have experienced panic attacks will know just how frightening they are – not least because the effects mimic those of heart attacks on occasion. But, of course, there are ways to treat these periods of extreme anxiety – or, indeed, stop them from arising in the first place.

Popular prescription

For example, in the U.S. doctors commonly prescribe alprazolam – widely known by its brand name Xanax – for anxiety disorders. This drug soothes panic attacks that may be brought on by worry, phobias, and stress, and it’s also a hugely popular solution for milder or chronic bouts of anxiety.

Xanax in the body

But what is Xanax, and how does it work? Well, alprazolam actually belongs to a group of tranquilizers and sedatives called benzodiazepines that make you feel more relaxed. Benzodiazepines interact with chemicals in your body called neurotransmitters, which are your brain’s way of sending messages around your system.

Fight or flight

And each neurotransmitter interacts with others to create physical and psychological reactions – such as the fight-or-flight response. In layman’s terms, this phenomenon prepares your body for either confronting or escaping a situation by enhancing the functions you may need to do so.

Extra energy

In the face of potential danger, the heart’s blood vessels widen, and blood flow accelerates accordingly. This readies our body for immediate physical action, supplying extra oxygen to our muscles and brain to be burned as required. And regardless of whether you run from the threat or or attack it head-on, you need that extra energy.

Reacting in readiness

Other parts of your circulatory system also react in readiness as part of the reflex. Veins and arteries serving muscles widen, while those in parts of your system less crucial in such situations, such as the stomach, contract. In addition, the fight-or-flight response pushes blood to the parts that are most needed for quick reactions: the muscles and brain.

Effect on the lungs

Your bronchi – the airways linking your lungs to your windpipe – dilate, too. Not only does this flood your bloodstream with extra oxygen, but it also accelerates your inhalation and exhalation rate. This prepares you for a prompt reaction to an assault or assists your escape from danger.

Role of the liver

And as the fight-or-flight response provides your body with more energy, your liver plays a part. When the organ receives signals from your neurotransmitters, it dips into your glycogen store to transform it into glucose. Stepping up the production of glucose then gives your body more sugar and, as a result, a burst of energy.

Skin changes

The process even affects your skin, which isn’t surprising when you think about the related bodily changes. As skin isn’t considered essential to protection or escape from threats, blood is therefore pushed away from its surface to power other parts of your system. Such a step can make you appear paler as blood flushes around your body.

Enhanced eyesight

Lastly, your eyes adjust to the new situation by widening your pupils. This allows more light to enter your optic system, enhancing your vision and making your environment clearer. In that way, you can assess the world around you for escape routes or combat advantages. Yet all these fight-or-flight mechanics may already seem familiar.

Familiar situation

Heart beating faster and your body sweating? Check. Your mind racing and skin turning pale? Check. Hyper-alert? Oh yes. They’re the same things you experience during a panic attack, as your brain’s responding to anxiety in the same way as it would during a fight-or-flight situation. One key difference, though, is how your mind interprets this information.

Vicious cycle

You see, fight-or-flight responses can also trigger psychological reactions. And when you start to experience these changes, it’s common to think of them as something else. You may believe you have reason to panic, for instance, or that these adjustments are a sign of a larger – and more serious – problem. Worse still, this anxiety may just go on to feed into a loop.

Anxiety triggers

But the mind is a complicated thing, and there are many reasons why you may experience anxiety. Phobias – that is, intense fears – can trigger it, as can post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Sometimes worrying attacks even strike out of the blue – particularly if you have generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) or a similar psychiatric diagnosis.

Reversing the reaction

Yet while our bodies are responsible for triggering the fight-or-flight response, they can reverse the process, too. For proof of this, you need look no further than gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA). This chemical is an amino acid that your brain releases to combat stress and anxiety, and it can counterbalance some fight-or-flight-associated reactions.

Influencing GABA

The human brain contains proteins called GABA receptors, in fact, and these specifically respond to the acid. GABA’s presence also reduces the influx of neurotransmitters your brain receives, meaning your heart stops palpitating and your thinking process changes. And this partly explains how Xanax works, as the drug makes GABA’s effects more pronounced.

Calming down

In essence, GABA helps stabilize your agitated emotions and brings you back to rationality. And, crucially, the acid also works to suppress your physiological fight-or-flight responses. Yes, the elevated oxygen levels and energy production are both reigned back in – calming you down as a result.

Overdependence

Still, Xanax comes with some caveats. Some long-term users become addicted, for instance. And as your body adapts to the drug, you may require an increasing amount for it to remain effective – which could run the risk of eventual overdose. So, while a natural alternative to Xanax would be ideal, such a thing doesn’t exist – or does it?

Food for (good) thought

Well, according to health website Medical News Today, some foods may actually help reduce anxiety. For instance, both eggs and dark chocolate provide tryptophan, which produces the mood-regulating neurotransmitter serotonin. Green tea similarly has calming properties owing to its high concentration of theanine – an amino acid that encourages communication between the brain and nerve impulses.

Breakthrough discovery

And recent studies suggest that there could be another food that may work even more effectively than Xanax on anxiety. The revelation comes from Japan, where a trio of researchers from different specialties collaborated with a common goal – and the fruits of their labor could spell good news for people living with chronic worry.

Meeting the team

The team heading up the investigation included Tamaki Matsumoto from Shitennoji University’s Department of Health and Education and Osaka’s Ohgimachi Ladies Clinic researcher Hiroyuki Asakura. Cognitive and behavioral science expert Tatsuya Hayashi from Kyoto University was the final member involved in the analysis.

Power of fragrance

You may be asking why a group of people from such varied disciplines came together and for what purpose. Well, they were actually looking into the effects of fragrances on the human body – specifically, how they may combat stress. And the scientists had an interesting way of gauging the results of their work.

CgA

“This experiment measured salivary [Chromogranin (CgA)] and the Profile of Mood States [POMS],” the research paper explained. To break that down further, CgA is a protein our bodies produce. You can detect the substance in saliva, meaning it’s easy to collect from research volunteers. And, relevantly, CgA is sometimes associated with stress.

Scent & stress

Indeed, past studies have indicated that when people are placed in troubling situations, their bodies produce more CgA. This provided a way in which the team could assess how a specific scent could help reduce stress. And you may be surprised to discover the identity of the aroma in question.

Yuzu

You see, Xanax’s natural competition is the humble citrus. The Japanese study initially focused on one specific type of fruit: the citrus junos sieb. ex tanaka, otherwise known as a yuzu. This ingredient, the research paper later explained, is a common ingredient in Eastern cooking.

Common ingredient

“Yuzu fruit and its juice have been traditionally used for making vinegar and seasoning,” the team said. “The peel of the yuzu fruit is valued by chefs, who use it to enhance flavor and garnish dishes. The Japanese also use yuzu to make various sweets, including marmalade, jellies and cakes.”

Do-it-all fruit

But the researchers’ primary reason for studying yuzu was its potential to combat stress and anxiety. “According to food and nutritional science studies,” the paper continued, “[the] yuzu also possesses antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic properties and exhibits preventive effects on cognitive dysfunction.” Essentially, then, it could have a calming effect on elevated anxiety.

Soothing smell

Mind you, other scientists had touched upon this theory before. “Because of its distinctive pleasing fragrance, producers of cosmetics and perfumes use yuzu essential oil in the manufacture of their products,” the paper elaborated. “Studies published in Japanese scientific journals suggest the soothing effects of the yuzu fragrance and its potential application to aromatherapy.”

No data available

That said, the research team had found no trace of any dedicated study into the fruit’s calming applications. They wrote, “An extensive literature search for the present study that used the PubMed database, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health... identified no available empirical human-subject research regarding the efficacy of yuzu fragrance for psychosomatic health.”

Crossover study

And as this seemed an untapped subject worth investigating, Matsumoto, Asakura, and Hayashi decided to conduct their own analysis with the help of a voluntary control group. A pool of 20 young women applied for the experiment, which took place on two different occasions in what the paper called a “crossover study” for clearer results.

POMS

Firstly, the volunteers’ states of mind were assessed. This is usually done on the previously mentioned Profile of Mood States scale, or POMS, in the U.S., although the team used a localized equivalent. The experts then converted the scores they had received in accordance with the Total Mood Disturbance (TMD) scale.

The experiment

After that, the researchers gave their volunteer group either a yuzu-infused scent or scentless water to inhale for a ten-minute period. This was followed by another look into the participants’ mental states – again using the same mood assessment scale. The group of scientists took samples of saliva to examine the levels of CgA present in each case.

Successful test

So, what did the study conclude? Well, the paper explained, “The main findings reveal that salivary CgA, reflecting sympathetic nervous system activity, significantly decreased directly after ten-minute inhalation of aromatic yuzu oil.” And a lower level of CgA indicates that the treatment worked in reducing the volunteers’ stress levels – along with an additional residual benefit.

Lasting effects

Amazingly, CgA levels continued to drop for up to half an hour after the initial scent test. All the volunteers admitted an improvement in their TMD scores, too. Of this last phenomenon, the paper reported, “The inhalation of the yuzu scent significantly decreased TMD on the POMS test as well as four subscores of emotional symptoms.”

Releases dopamine

What makes yuzu so effective at relieving stress and anxiety? That remains in question, but the researchers believe it’s partly down to the fruit’s concentration of γ-terpinene. This liquid encourages the human body to release a neurotransmitter called dopamine, which assists in our rational thinking and pleasure responses.

Low doses of limonene

Limonene could be another reason for the yuzu’s calming nature, as citrus fruits contain varying levels of this oil – which affects the nervous system – in their peel. Indeed, studies have found that in higher concentrations such as those found in grapefruit, limonene can help speed up and promote alertness. Lower doses, on the other hand, aid in relaxation, as is the case with yuzu.

The problem with sweet oranges

The study also mentioned that sweet oranges exude a calming scent, and likewise they possess relatively low levels of limonene. Yet while an experiment performed in a dentist waiting room indicated that an orange aroma was effective at relaxing female patients, men proved rather more resistant to its charms.

More research needed

Further research is needed to explore this curious difference between the genders, of course. But considering the number of people out there experiencing stress and anxiety, it’s a topic worth investigating – especially when you consider how any results could completely change the quality of life of a sufferer.

When life gives you lemons

So, if you live with anxiety and want to try something to ease your symptoms, pick up some yuzus, as the scent could help when you’re having a stressful time. Even if they don’t, the worst-case scenario is they give your home a fresh citrusy smell. And overall, it turns out that when life gives you lemons, it may be a good thing after all.